The present invention relates generally to flashlights, and more particularly to a miniature flashlight having a light emitting diode (LED) light source and an associated case or carrier that is useful for law enforcement personnel and civilians alike.
Conventional general-purpose flashlights are well known in the art and have often been used by law enforcement personnel in the execution of their duties and in emergency situations. Flashlights are used for a wide variety of purposes. For example, they are often used during traffic stops to illuminate the interior of a stopped vehicle or to complete a police report in the dark. They are also used to facilitate searches of poorly lit areas, and may be used to illuminate dark alleys or stairwells. Law enforcement personnel also use flashlights to check or adjust their equipment when positioned in a darkened area or at night, and may also be used to send signals to one another. Consequently, it is common, and frequently required, for law enforcement personnel to carry a flashlight, as well as other law enforcement equipment, such as a sidearm, handcuffs, and intermediate force weapons such as an expandable baton. With such a large number of items, it is often difficult and cumbersome for law enforcement personnel to carry all of these items on their person so they can be accessed.
Generally, conventional flashlights employ an incandescent light bulb and dry cell batteries enclosed in a housing typically having an elongated cylindrical body section and a head section. Flashlights of this type are often bulky and cumbersome. Law enforcement personnel often wear a holster to carry a flashlight on their person. However, the inconvenient size and weight of conventional flashlights reduce the mobility of law enforcement personnel required to carry such flashlights along with other law enforcement equipment. As a result, the flashlight may purposefully or inadvertently be left, presenting a problem when the need for a flashlight arises and the officer does not have one readily available.
Civilians also find a variety of uses for flashlights. Besides traditional home uses, small flashlights are favored for various security purposes. For example, when going to one's car during darkness, it is not uncommon for an individual, especially a female, to carry a small flashlight to assist in locating the door lock keyhole or to check for potential assailants. Even small conventional flashlights, however, can be cumbersome and inconvenient to carry for this purpose.
To overcome the bulk and weight disadvantages of traditional flashlights, small compact hand-held flashlights utilizing LED light sources and small, coin-type battery power sources have been developed. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,018 that is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated hereby by reference in its entirely. Such compact, lightweight flashlights easily may be carried on one's person. Some are adapted to attach readily via spring-biased means to a key chain or to clothing, such as buttonholes, belt loops, or the like. However, no known lightweight LED flashlights are readily adapted to be actuated when selectively inserted into a case or carrier, that in turn is adapted to be attached to the user's person, such as to a hat brim or backpack. Such attachment facilitates directional positioning of the light beam without hand manipulation.
Typically, known small, LED flashlights require slide or pressure switches that directly engage LED leads to batteries in order to actuate the light. This results in increased fatigue on the LED leads, and adversely affects switch reliability. In addition, many small flashlights are constructed with hard plastic outer shells unsuitable for marking, etching, or interchanging. Other small flashlights may include an integral clip for attachment to clothes, baggage, or keys, but they generally have spring-biased locking mechanisms, which are vulnerable to breakage and typically require extra parts and expense in manufacturing. Further, most flashlights require at least partial human assembly, which is a relatively labor-intensive process and expensive.
It thus follows that a miniature LED flashlight with a momentary contact switch, interchangeable body inserts, top covers suitable for marking, and an integral, split-ring clip would provide significant advantages over prior known small flashlights. Complete automation of the assembly process would significantly reduce human error inherent in flashlight assembly, significantly increase the number of lights able to be produced in a given period of time, and greatly lower the price per unit.
A number of “hat-mounted” and “tool-mounted” flashlights are described in the prior art. Such devices, however, typically use incandescent bulbs and dry cell batteries. One such hat-mounted device is activated when a user dons the hat. Another is activated when a user twists a flashlight barrel, or otherwise activates a switch. One known tool-mounted flashlight is activated when an insulating tab disposed between switch contacts is removed.
These known hat-mounted and tool-mounted flashlights require manual interaction to activate and deactivate the light. Thus, a miniature flashlight and an associated case adapted to be releasably attached to a support (such as a hat brim or other article of clothing), wherein the flashlight may be activated either manually or when selectively inserted into the case, would provide significant advantages over known flashlights and associated cases or carriers.